Cinedigm to bring NBA All-Star Saturday Night live in 3D to theaters nationwide

It won't be the first 3D NBA experience of all time, but it will be the first of this magnitude. Cinedigm is teaming up with the league and Turner Sports to showcase the 2009 All-Star Saturday Night in Live 3D HD to some 80 theaters across the US. Hailed as the "first-ever marketed and commercially viable (open for sale to public) live movie theater broadcast of a major sporting event," the spectacle will be available on over 160 screens in 35 states. As of now, pricing information remains fuzzy, but you'll have to either roll solo or hope your lady friend(s) really loves Kobe given the terrible, terrible February 14th show date. Way to think that one through, NBA. Full release is after the break.

Fans in 35 States to Witness First Nationwide NBA 3D HD Event on Saturday, Feb. 14

Turner Sports, The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. (NASDAQ: CIDM) today announced that they will team up to broadcast TNT's coverage of NBA All-Star Saturday Night in Live 3D to 80 digitally-equipped theaters across the United States. The announcement represents the first-ever fully marketed deal to deliver an NBA sporting event to the public in Live 3D. The Live 3D HD event will be shown on a nationwide basis and continues to expand the league's groundbreaking efforts in 3D HD.

Overall, the live 3D HD event will be shown on up to 160 screens in Carmike Cinemas, Celebration Cinemas, Cinema West, Emagine, Galaxy Theatres, Marquee Cinemas, MJR, NCG, Rave Motion Pictures, Showcase and UltraStar Cinema locations, and will serve fans in 35 states across the country

The 24th annual NBA All-Star Saturday Night broadcast, expected to be one of the year's most watched sporting events, is scheduled to air on Saturday, February 14th, 2009 at 8 pm ET on TNT. NBA All-Star Saturday Night on TNT last year was the most watched in the event's 23 year history, enjoying increases in households and significant growth in all key demographics.

"Turner Sports is excited to work with Cinedigm to extend our brand, as well as that of NBA All-Star Weekend, into a new arena through this creative and innovative viewing opportunity." said David Levy, President of Turner Broadcasting Sales, Inc. and Turner Sports. "We are proud to once again be on the cutting edge in providing NBA fans with a truly unique and comprehensive 3D viewing experience during NBA All-Star Weekend. This partnership demonstrates that Turner continues to provide new and innovative concepts for NBA fans to enhance the viewing experience."

"Turner is the ideal partner to work with in delivering the next evolution of 3D HD to our fans," said Steve Hellmuth, Executive Vice President, Operations and Technology, NBA. "The last few seasons we have embraced 3D HD as a new and innovative way to experience the excitement of our game and look forward to putting fans coast-to-coast in a courtside seat for All-Star Saturday Night."

"Cinedigm is the only company that can deliver Live 3D broadcast on a nationwide scale to cinemas and we are thrilled to be working with Turner Sports and the NBA on this event," said Bud Mayo, Chairman and CEO of Cinedigm. "This groundbreaking, publicly available event is a demonstration of the benefits brought to audiences through true digital cinema experiences. Whether it's bringing live 3D events or 3D movies to theaters or allowing theaters to custom-tailor the content they deliver to moviegoers, we are bringing new cinema-based entertainment options to consumers and new revenue streams to theaters," added Bud Mayo.

The NBA has been a sports pioneer in live 3D HD. The league featured the first live sports event in 3D HD with special viewing parties for NBA All-Star 2007. For Game 2 of The Finals in 2007, at the direction of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the NBA delivered the first public viewing of a live sporting event in 3D HD when more than 14,000 fans in the Quicken Loans Arena watched the Cavaliers take on the San Antonio Spurs on four 60-foot screens. Last season, the Dallas Mavericks produced and delivered the first live 3D HD sporting event to a motion picture theater at the Landmark Theater in Dallas to 500 fans.

NBA fans will be able to cheer together from the equivalent of courtside seats as the leagues' top players compete in the following major events (competitors to be announced closer to the event).

The event will employ Cinedigm's CineLive(TM) technology, which enables live 2-D and 3-D streaming currently to more than 80 theater complexes with more than 160 3D screens in the U.S. Cinedigm expects to further expand its CineLive network throughout 2009 to at least 150 locations. Cinema tickets will go on sale today for some locations, others will be added in the coming days. For a location near you and to buy tickets please go to www.cinedigmentertainment.com.

TNT's exclusive coverage of NBA All-Star Weekend, live from Phoenix, Arizona, tips off Friday, February 13 at 9 p.m. ET with the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge and Youth Jam, with the excitement continuing on Saturday, February 14 at 8 p.m. ET with TNT's live coverage of NBA All-Star Saturday Night, which includes the Haeir Shooting Stars competition, the Playstation Skills Challenge, the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout, and the Sprite Slam Dunk. TNT's All-Star coverage takes center stage on Sunday, February 15 at 8 p.m. ET with the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.

About Cinedigm

Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. is the global leader in fulfilling the promise of digital cinema. Its ground-breaking technology platform helps exhibitors, distributors, studios and content providers transform the consumer movie experience -- by expanding theatrical features to include not only movies but also live 2-D and 3-D performances such as sporting events, concerts and gaming. The Company also enables theatres to create exhibitions and advertising opportunities targeted to specific audience groups and locations thereby offering new revenue opportunities for these venues. Cinedigm's leading digital cinema platform and one-of-a-kind satellite delivery operations support more than 3,700 theatre screens across the United States with over nine million digital showings of Hollywood features to date. www.Cinedigm.com [CIDM-G]

About Turner Sports/TNT

Turner Sports, Inc., a division of Turner Broadcasting, Inc., presents some of the best and most popular sporting events worldwide and is a leader in televised and online sports programming. With events airing on TBS and TNT, Turner Sports' line-up includes NASCAR and NASCAR.COM, the NBA, Major League Baseball, professional golf, PGATour.com and PGA.com. Turner Sports also manages NBA Digital, which includes NBA TV, NBA.com, WNBA.com, NBADLeague.com and NBA League Pass.

Turner Network Television (TNT), one of cable's top-rated networks, is television's destination for drama and home to such original series as the acclaimed and highly popular detective drama The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick; Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter; Raising the Bar, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Gloria Reuben and Jane Kaczmarek; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; and Trust Me, with Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh. TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, Cold Case, Law & Order, Without a Trace, ER and Charmed; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards(R); and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

About the NBA

The NBA, founded in 1946, is a global sports and entertainment brand that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada. During the 2008-09 season, NBA games will reach 215 countries and territories in 41 languages. The league's worldwide reach will be reflected in the 75 international players from 32 countries and territories on NBA rosters. NBA merchandise is sold in more than 100,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents. NBA.com averages more than five million daily visits, with more than 50 percent of the site's visitors come from outside of North America.

Domestically, the NBA will broadcast 143 regular-season games on national television during the 2008-09 season on ABC, TNT, ESPN and ESPN2. NBA TV, launched in 1999 as the first 24-hour television channel created and operated by a professional sports league, will broadcast an additional 96 games. NBA Cares is the league's social responsibility initiative that builds on the NBA's long tradition of addressing important social issues in the United States and around the world. Through this umbrella program, the NBA, its teams and players have donated more than $90 million to charity, provided more than 750,000 hours of hands-on service to communities around the world, and created more than 345 places where kids and families can live, learn or play.